impotent
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Lacking in power, as to act effectively.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
impuhtuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɪmpətənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Lacking power or ability; morality without technology is impotent"- Freeman J.Dyson
Lacking in power, as to act effectively; helpless
Lacking physical strength or vigor; weak
of a male
Sterile
noun
A man who has erectile dysfunction
An impotent or powerless person
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Lacking power or ability; morality without technology is impotent"- Freeman J.Dyson
Used this way, impotent is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in ethics or values contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Ethics/values
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.
Lacking in ability; incompetent or inadequate.
Not able; lacking a certain ability.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: lacking power or ability
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.